Brick-machine.



W. E. HARMON.

BRICK MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 24, 1915.

1,169,898. Patented Feb. 1, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

MWJ $6102;

THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0., WASHINGTON, n.

W. E. HARMON.

BRICK MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.24. 19x5.

Patented Feb. 1, 1916.

S-SHEET 2.

parts in the several figures.

UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE.

WILLIS E. HARMON, OF PORTLAND, MAINE, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNEASSIGNMENTS, T0 HORACE PURINTON 00., OF WATERVILLE, MAINE, A CORPO-BATION 0F MAINE.

BRICK-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 1, 1916.

Application filed. February 24, 1915. Serial No. 10,227.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, l/VILLIs E. HAnMoN, citizen of the United States,residing at Portland, in the county of Cumberland and State of Maine,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brick-Machines ofwhich the following is a specification.

' This invention relates to improvements in brick machines. It isdesigned to provide a power driven machine so constructed that, if, forany reason, the operation of the machine is obstructed while the poweris on, some parts of the machine will yield, thereby preventing damageto the machine.

It is further designed to provide a machine which is simple inconstruction and operation and which may be operated with greatrapidity.

In the drawings herewith accompanying and making a part of thisapplication F igure 1 is a perspective view of my improved brickmachine; Fig. 2 is a side elevation with parts broken away to show theconstruction of interior parts, some of the parts being omitted forclearness; Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view taken on line :r-zv, Fig.1, of the mechanism for operating the mold carriage actuating lever; Figs.v l, 5, and 6 are side elevations of the double cam, toothed diskand clutch, respectively, which operate said lever, and Fig. 7 is adetail view of the safety mechanism interposed between the power and themold carriage to prevent injury to the machine due to accidentalobstruction to the normal movements of the carriage.

Same reference characters indicate like In said drawings A is a hopperhaving discharge openings at in the bottom thereof. In said hopper ismounted suitable rotating agitators and mixing devices 2 and 3 attachedto a vertical shaft L driven in any convenient manner by power mechanismnot shown. Below said hopper is a chamber 5. In one of the verticalwalls 6 of said chamber is an opening 7 in the front of which is placeda guide plate 8, preferably curved. Adjacent said openings and forming apart of said chamber is a press boX 9 having a cover 10 on the front ofwhich is a plate 11 which is adapted to move just inside the plate 8. Inthe bottom of the chamber is a series of discharge openings 12 which aresubstantially the size of a brick. On shaft 1 and within chamber 5 arepaddles 5 which tend to convey the material toward said dischargeopenings. Adapted to reciprocate below the press boX and chamber is amold carriage 13 upon which the brick molds are secured, thereciprocation of said mold carriage being effected by mechanismhereinafter described. The mold carriage carries a. horizontal raisedplate 14 which closes the discharge openings when the carriage with themolds are withdrawn. The parts heretofore described are substantiallythe same as in the brick machines in common use and form no part of myinvention.

Secured to one side of the machine frame B, preferably'in a bracket 15is a rotatable shaft 16 adapted to be driven continuously by powermechanism not shown. Upon this shaft is loosely mounted a double cam1718. Keyed on said shaft outside said cam is a notched disk 19. Outsidesaid disk is a slidable clutch member 20. Pivotally attached to theoutside of the cam is a pawl 21, the free end of which is constantlyimpelled toward and into locking engagement with said notched disk by aspring 22, but is held normally out of engagement therewith by a roll 23on the pawl 21 which normally is in the path of clutch 20. The clutch isoperated by a lever 24:. attached at oneend to a bracket 25 on the frameby a pivot pin 26 pasing through a slot in theend of the lever.Intermediate the pivot and handle ends the said lever isattached to theclutch by a pivot pin 27. A spring 28 attached to the frame and to theclutch operating lever is designed to automatically return the slidableclutch to disengage the pawl from disk 19 and stop the machine aftereach mold has been pressed.

Pivotally mounted on a post 29 on the side of the machine is anoscillating lever 30 terminating above the pivot point in diverging arms3132, each provided with acam roll 33 located in the path of cam 18.

Below the mold carriage and secured to the frame is a rotatable shaft34: upon which is rigidly mounted a crank 35. In the free end of crank35 is a bearing 36 having a vertical arm 37. On this bearing is anantifriction roll 38.

Pivotally secured'to the end of lever 30 is a link 39which restsyieldingly upon antifriction. roll 38, said link being provided with arecess 66 with inclined sidesto give depending flange 44 which extendsfar enough to engage and hold the link against lateral displacement. Thetension of the clamp is regulated by a spring 45 interposed between theclamp and adjusting nut 46. An antifriction roll 40 is mounted in theclamp, as seen in Fig. 7, to engage the upper edge of the link, ifdesired, to prevent binding and to clear away hardened clay that mightcollect on the upper edge of the link.

On shaft 34 are rigidly mounted cranks 47 which are connected to themold carriage by links 48. Mounted upon the frame above the press box isa shaft 49 to which is rigidly secured one or more cranks 50 which areconnected by links 51 to the press box plunger 10 which serves both as acover and press plunger.

Pivotally mounted upon the side of the machine is a lever 52 having anarm 53 ex tending rearwardly and provided'with an antifriction roll inthe path of cam 17. Pivotally mounted on shaft 49 is a crank 54, andconnecting the ends of lever 52 and an offset block 55 forming a part ofcrank 54 is a link 71 which extends loosely through said block and has aregulating tension spring 56 interposed between said block and anadjusting nut 57 on the link. Rigidly secured on shaft 34 is a crank 58,and connecting said cranks 54 and 58 is a link 59, the connection ofsaid link with crank 54 being made by means of a pin 60 set in saidcrank and projecting into a slot 61 in the end of the link. A frictionbelt 62 engages the hub of the double cam with suflicient tension toprevent movement of the cam on its shaft, due to gravity. A spring 64forms a section of the belt and gives it a yielding tension. The ends ofthe belt are secured in a strut 65 on the bracket 15 and its tension canbe adjusted by means of a holding nut 67. The mold carriage travels overantifriction rolls 68.

The cover to the press box is provided with an air valve 69whichprevents the formation of a vacuum in the top of the box.

The operation of the machine will now be described.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the machine is shown in ready to start position. Theclutch shifting lever is moved to the right until it passes beyond theroll on the pawl which then engages the notched disk and starts themachine. As the double cam revolves it moves the carriage operatinglever tothe right which through intermediate mechanism carries thecarriage wlth the molds under the press box to be filled and movestheslotted link down. .As the double cam continues to revolve, at theproper time the back cam engages the roll on the press plunger operatinglever which through intermediate mechanism 'forces down the pressplunger into the pressbox and also crank 54. This forces the materialinto the molds. As the cam continues to revolve the front cam engagesthe other arm of the mold carriageopera-ting lever and returns thecarriage to the point of 1. A brick machine, a press box havingdischarge openings in the bottom, a press box plunger and means foroperating it, a mold carriage and means for imparting an oscillatingmotion to said carriage including as one of its elements a link arrangedto slip when the strain exceeds a certain tension.

2. In a brick machine, a press box having discharge openings in thebottom, a press box plunger and means for operating it, a mold carriage,an oscillating mold carriage operating lever having two diverging armseach provided with a cam roll, a cam adapted to engage said rollsalternately and connecting mechanism intermediate said lever and moldcarriage including as one of its elements av link arranged to slip whenthe strain exceeds a certain tension.

3. In a brick machine, a press box having discharge openings in thebottom, a press box plunger and means for operating it, a mold carriage,an oscillating mold carriage operating lever having two diverging armseach provided with a cam roll, a-

cam adapted to engage said rolls alternately and connecting mechanismintermediate said lever and mold carriage including a link having arecess, an antifriction roll normally seated in said recess and ayielding clamp arranged to hold said link yieldingly upon said roll, andto allow it to slip when the strain exceeds a certain tension.

4. In a brick machine, a press box'having discharge openings in thebottom, a press I box plunger and means for operating it, a moldcarr1age,an oscillating mold carriage operating lever having twodiverging arms each provided with a cam roll, a cam adapted to engagesaid rolls alternately and con rolls when the strain exceeds a certaintennecting mechanism intermediate said lever sion. 10 and mold carriageincluding a link having a In testimony whereof I aifix my signaturerecess, an antifriction roll normally seated in presenceof twoWitnesses.

"- in said recess and a spring controlled clamp WILLIS E. HARMON.

having an antifriction roll arranged to press Witnesses With yieldingtension upon the top of said ELGI'N G. VERRILL, link, whereby the linkwill slip between said CHARLES L. Fos'rnn.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, 13.0. Y

